They love graphic novels, but we struggled to find books that featured Black girls. The book was also inspired by my daughters. It took quite a while for me to learn how to be my own, unique self. Just like Maureen in Twins, I struggled with that separation. (We even dressed up as conjoined twins for Halloween-and won first place in the costume contest!) But when we began middle school, we were placed in separate classes. My brother and I did everything together in elementary school. Twins is largely inspired by real-life-I’m an identical twin, born five minutes after my brother. In his 100 Scope Notes blog, elementary school librarian Travis Jonker calls it “the best contemporary middle-grade graphic novel you’ll read this year.” What was your inspiration for the story? Your first graphic novel, Twins, is brand-new, but it has already received five starred reviews. Here Johnson talks with Lisa Bullard about his own transition to writing a different kind of novel, as well as his push to populate stories of every kind with relatable Black characters.
Twins tells the story of sisters who discover that the transition to middle school is made even more complicated because of the challenges it poses for their relationship as identical twins. For his new novel, Twins, just published in October, Johnson takes on another challenge: his first graphic novel. The title is notable for the way it deftly weaves an exciting hidden-treasure mystery together with an examination of racism’s deep roots in the U.S. Varian Johnson’s middle-grade novel, The Parker Inheritance, was awarded a 2019 Coretta Scott King Honor as well as received numerous other accolades.
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